South East Mountain Rescue Association have secured Social Finance Investment worth €30,000 from UCIT (Ireland) to help fund the construction of a Vehicle Storage Unit in the grounds of the Fire Training School at Haywood Rd., Clonmel.

South East Mountain Rescue Association have secured Social Finance Investment worth €30,000 from UCIT (Ireland) to help fund the construction of a Vehicle Storage Unit in the grounds of the Fire Training School at Haywood Rd., Clonmel.

The base is 1,229 square feet and comprises three roller shutter doors, an emergency access door and will provide covered parking for the fleet of 3 Vehicles - 2 land rovers and an Incident Command Vehicle. The building will also provide a central storage location for rescue equipment.

SEMRA has been operating in the South East Region since 1976 as a 24 hr/365 Day service. The group have been involved in over 300 incidents ranging from rescuing injured hill walkers to all night long searches for missing mountain users.

As the leading Social Finance provider to social enterprises and the community & voluntary sector on the Island of Ireland, UCIT operate on the basis that financial constraints, especially access to credit, should not hinder groups such as South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association from carrying out their essential work.

The South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association is a voluntary, non-profit organisation affiliated to Mountain Rescue Ireland. All 50 members are volunteers and come from all walks of life including carpenters, engineers, scientists, doctors, shopkeepers, civil servants etc. and are medically trained in the R.E.C. system (Rescue Emergency Care). Mountain Rescue Teams can only be called out using 999/112. Mountain Rescue is free in Ireland.

There are 12 mountain rescue teams in Ireland, South Eastern Mountain Rescue holds responsibility for search and rescues in the mountainous terrain of S.E. Ireland. Covering the biggest geographic area in the British Isles, South East Mountain Rescue Association work closely with other agencies such as the Gardai, Search & Rescue Dogs Association (SARDA), The Irish Coastguard and, Dublin/ Wicklow, Glen of Imaal and Kerry MRT’s. In recent years Mountain Rescue Teams have captured the imagination of the public due to various television documentaries about the fearless, often lifesaving, work carried out by their members.

Quotes from Tom Meehan, Treasurer of SEMRA

“Completing this project is a major milestone for SEMRA in that we now have a building which we can call home. It would not have been possible without the generous support of a number of agencies including South Tipperary County Council and South Tipperary Development Company. We were also particularly fortunate to be nominated as the Boston Scientific Charity of the Year for 2013. However, the funding from UCIT was an essential element in financing the project and allowed SEMRA to complete the building to the specification we desired.”

2. “UCIT were extremely supportive from our first contact with them. The application process was straightforward thanks to the help and guidance provided by the staff at UCIT. It was most helpful to obtain approval in principle very early in the process as this allowed us to move ahead with the project. I would recommend UCIT as a source of finance to any group in the community or voluntary sectors.”

Quotes from Donal Traynor, Associate Director, UCIT (Ireland) Ltd.

“From UCIT’s perspective, the work of SEMRA and the immediate community impact they have, provide a natural fit for our Social Investment. The track record of the group to date, complemented by their forward thinking both on and off the Mountain is to be commended. We are delighted to have been in a position to get involved with the group, as our first investment in Tipperary and look forward to maintaining a long term relationship through their new base.” – Donal Traynor, Associate Director, UCIT (Ireland) Ltd.

UCIT, a not-for-profit-taking, member based organisation, is one of the largest providers of Social Finance to the community sector on the island. Having invested over €50 million into more than 300 communities since 2001, their decision to make finance available to the entire Republic in 2013 is seen as a welcome departure in the face of decreasing grants and restricted commercial lending.

Social Finance will normally see one Community Enterprise lending to another. All repayments and profits are recycled for further lending to communities with an immediate social impact. The group are keen to make contact with all community based organisations interested in availing of Social Finance from an existing fund of circa €70 million.

For more information on UCIT visit www.ucitltd.com or contact 041-6858637

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